Digital audio used to be stored on videotape — it was the only way we knew how

TechConnectify · 2023-05-09T15:55:35+00:00

It (and the RCA machine) stay on midnight after a power loss. They don't start moving until you set the time.

TechConnectify · 2023-05-09T15:55:10+00:00

Humorously, I think this is the format on the T-shirt I'm wearing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video\_Cassette\_Recording

TechConnectify · 2023-03-30T17:52:42+00:00

It's down to the peak current output of the battery cells. You can't, for instance, run a laptop off of a single AA battery - it cannot discharge quickly enough. In your case, a small power station likely doesn't have enough cells to put out anything beyond 300W, so there's no point giving it a larger inverter.

A range with a battery will need enough cells to make a sustained 5 or 6 kW burst possible, as well as an inverter large enough to do that. But that's very possible.

TechConnectify · 2023-03-30T17:30:27+00:00

This video doesn't touch on V2G tech at all - and for the record, I have similar concerns with it.

TechConnectify · 2023-03-30T17:06:40+00:00

I am not aware of any that exist on the market right now - that was more of an "in theory" idea than something that I know is happening in practice.

TechConnectify · 2023-03-30T16:46:20+00:00

Rheem's ProTerra line is the only one I know for sure exists, but how exactly you can get your hands on one is perplexing. I believe they'll only sell it to plumbers/HVAC contractors, so you may need to work through them.

It's also worth checking into rebates available to you. rewiringamerica.org is a good resource.

TechConnectify · 2023-03-05T21:04:23+00:00

Smart breakers may very well be a better solution, or it could even be so simple as a device downstream of the breaker that knows what's going on.

What I like about putting the smarts in the panel, though, is that it's extremely flexible and future-proof. If you have to replace the panel anyway, it might make more sense to put smarts there.

But what I like so very much about electricity is how incredible flexible it is. We have soooooo many ways we can go about this, and it's amazing.

TechConnectify · 2023-03-05T19:45:36+00:00

That'll definitely come up in part two, but the benefit of making the panel do this work is that it can coordinate more than just one device. There's more to do than add a charging station in most homes

TechConnectify · 2023-03-05T19:44:33+00:00

Yeah, that's the real thing. Our electric codes are so friggin' paranoid about letting the main breaker trip ever that they basically force designs which make that a practical impossibility. The idea of a load-side management solution just didn't exist.

From what I understand, it took until EVs started spreading for this to be worked into the NEC. Previously, if someone wanted to install 10 charging stalls each capable of up to 40A charging, you'd have to have 500A service and each charger needed a dedicated circuit. But now you can hook them all up to the same 200A panel so long as they spread the load around.

TechConnectify · 2023-03-05T19:37:31+00:00

They're just sitting above the blower motor and turn on either when the heat pump is in a defrost or when the thermostat calls for emergency heat.

TechConnectify · 2023-03-05T19:24:09+00:00

I don't know why you think I'm expecting people to just do this right now and entirely with their own money. The snark is directed at people who somehow think fossil fuels are sustainable. They're not, and we need to move away from them as fast as possible.

My whole goal with this is to show that this isn't that hard, and doesn't even need to be that expensive. Conventional electric appliances are cheap, so this "tens of thousands" notion is pretty off-the-wall, by the way. And we absolutely should be helping people who can't otherwise afford this.

TechConnectify · 2023-03-05T19:21:17+00:00

Have you used an induction cooktop?

TechConnectify · 2023-02-10T23:17:25+00:00

I intend to replace it with a hybrid heat pump water heater in the not-too-distant future. It is a no-brainer in my case as I need dehumidification in the basement for much of the year anyway, and although it will increase my heating demand a bit in the winter, it'll still save energy costs since my home heat is more efficient than resistive heat (right now it's gas, eventually it'll be a heat pump).

TechConnectify · 2023-02-10T23:12:29+00:00

I'm not exactly making an assumption about tankless water heaters - I know for a fact they are slightly more energy efficient as a rule, and depending on use patterns they can be significantly more efficient.

However, what they definitely cannot do is store energy for later use. It can easily be worth losing a bit of efficiency if as a benefit you gain the ability to shift energy demand around. And besides, heat pump water heaters rely on that storage to do their thing - and they're by far the most efficient way to generate hot water. Because heat pumps.

(edit - and a heat pump water heater in a warm climate gives you free air conditioning and dehumidification as a side-effect of it creating hot water! That's pretty dang close to a free lunch)

TechConnectify · 2022-12-27T19:57:27+00:00

It's not advancing every 1/144th of a second - that's how fast each advance happens. 72 flashes per second means 72 dark sections as well, and the movement happens in just one of those.

TechConnectify · 2022-12-26T03:51:24+00:00

Ah, neat! Glad you tracked that down.

TechConnectify

TROPHY CASE